Le Mans, land of champions

The concentrated month of September for the World Series by Renault concluded this past weekend with the return of the 100% Renault event to Le Mans. The public responded enthusiastically to the invitation of Renault Sport Technologies with a crowd of 95,000 witnessing the coronation of Oliver Rowland and Fortec Motorsports in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as well as the titles for Dario Capitanio and David Fumanelli in the Renault Sport Trophy. The spectators also watched the battle intensify in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, and last but far from least; Sébastien Buemi entertained the masses in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Show. The season finale at Jerez promises to be magnificent.

Patrice Ratti, Renault Sport Technologies Managing Director: “We are very happy to return to Le Mans with an outstanding turnout of 95,000 spectators on hand. This was a decisive weekend with superb races resulting in the first titles in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series and Renault Sport Trophy being decided. Congratulations to Oliver Rowland, winner in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series before the Jerez weekend where he will try to set the category record for most wins in a season. The involvement of the French Sales management division allowed us to offer some exclusive activities, such as the first public appearance of the new Mégane GT; test drives of the Kadjar, Twingo and Twizy and an extraordinary collector parade with 300 vehicles on the circuit Bugatti. The cherry on the cake was the visit of Michel Vaillant, who presented a sneak preview of his next opus! A huge thank you to the Automobile club de l’Ouest for its hospitality and the competence of its entire organization!”

Formula Renault 3.5 Series: the titles for Rowland and Fortec Motorsports
Coming to Le Mans, Oliver Rowland and his Fortec Motorsports team had a very good chance of winning the two championships at stake. Despite their success on Saturday, the Britons had to wait until Sunday to clinch the titles with the eighth place finish of the Racing Steps Foundation protégé. The last ditch attempt of Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus) was not enough against the resistance of Egor Orudzhev (Arden Motorsport), who is now in the fight for the end of season podium.

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: an increasingly intense battle
The Josef Kaufmann Racing duo of Louis Delétraz and Kevin Jörg will arrive at Jerez as co-leaders in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. Despite locking out the front row on Saturday, the Swiss duo was beaten to the chequers by Ben Barnicoat (Fortec Motorsports). The Sunday race was a struggle with their rivals picked up valuable points. Anthoine Hubert (Tech 1 Racing) benefited the most with his victory. No less than eight drivers can still win the championship in Andalusia.

Renault Sport Trophy: the first titles awarded
In June, Dario Capitanio and David Fumanelli (Oregon Team #8) won the first race in the history of the Renault Sport Trophy. This weekend, the Italian pair finished third in the Endurance race behind Andrea Pizzitola and Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team #2) and Pieter Schothorst and Max van Splunteren (Equiper Verschuur #1). The post-race disqualification of the Dutch tandem assured them the title in the category. Both celebrated their crown by winning their respective Sprint races. Dario Capitanio’s victory wrapped up the title in Prestige and secured him a drive in next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans in LM P2, while the success of David Fumanelli resets the Elite standings with Andrea Pizzitola leading the way.